The Beach
by answersflyonangelwings
Summary: "I met him there by accident". Lina is six years old when she meets Taran, the boy who changes her life forever, and shows her how irrelevant time is when it comes to love.


**A/n: Just a little one-shot that's been on my mind for a while. I hope you enjoy it! It was inspired by the song **_La Playa_** by **La Oreja de Van Gogh. **Even if you don't understand Spanish, you should all check it out, it's a really nice song! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song or the band. **

**The Beach**

I met him there by accident. I was six years old and I thought myself to be quite the little adventurer. So of course, I managed to sneak away from my family and walk down the beach into a small cave that I told myself was forbidden and contained a buried treasure and a pirate I had to fight. Funnily enough, there was a little boy whom I fought for a sparkly rock that we both reached for at the same time.

I was shocked to see him of course, but the biggest thing on my mind in that moment was the "treasure" I had found. After we agreed that we should just bury it so neither of us could take it home, we exchanged names and ages.

"_I'm Lina, and I'm six years old." I said gravely before sticking out my hand. He made a face before shaking it and said, "My name's Taran. I'm seven. What kind of name is Lina?" he asked, making a face again. _

"_A pretty name," I said simply. "My daddy always says that Lina is his favorite name, though my mommy likes Angelina better. I don't like Angelina, it's such an old name!" I scrunched up my nose. "Besides, what kind of name is Taran?" _

_He swelled his chest. "It's a manly name. I don't want to call you Angelina or Lina. Can I call you…Geli?" _

"_Jelly? But that's a food!" I protested. _

"_Exactly! Foods have funner names. You can only call me Taran, though, 'cos that's the only name I have."_

I remember that he spent the rest of the day trying to convince me to let him call me that until I heard my mom looking for me, and exasperated, I said he could. We spent the summer there, my family and I, and so I met Taran every day to play.

The following summers fell in like manner. Each year we would grow a little more and try to outdo each other at the beach with our latest accomplishments. He was my first kiss, and for some reason, it wasn't awkward at all, before or after.

"_Geli!" He exclaimed, holding out his arms for a hug. "Taran!" I yelled excitedly before jumping into his arms. We began talking to each other excitedly at the same time, which led to confusion as we didn't stop to listen to the other unless a word came out stronger than what we were saying. _

"_You pierced your what?" "You jumped off where?" "What did you do to that boy?" "She did what to you?" _

We continued to talk over each other until we finally calmed down. As we walked by the ocean I noticed things I've never really noticed before. His blond hair was slightly longer and messier than ever before. His face was more defined, especially his cheek bones. His blue eyes sparkled excitedly as he talked to me that day, and for the first time I noticed how full and beautiful his lips were. His arms and legs had a bit more muscle from surfing and doing sports, and so when he flashed me his toothy and pearly white grin, I almost became weak in the knees. _He is fifteen now_, I remember thinking to myself. _Fifteen, almost a man_!

Because we spent eight years of summers in constant company with each other, he immediately knew when I wasn't paying attention to him.

"_Hello-o, Geli, are you home?" he asked, waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked before looking at him. I smiled at him, "Sorry, I guess I was just spacing out." _

"_Ha-ha, yeah right! You were probably just admiring my amazing beauty. It's okay, I've been known for causing girls to swoon at the sight of me," he said teasingly, waiting for my laugh. I stared at him in silence. His smile dropped from his face. "Oh my gosh, you really were admiring my amazing beauty!" I shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. "So you look good, big deal. What were you saying about that tidal wave last fall?" I asked. _

"_Oh no, no, no," he said, wagging his finger at me. "Don't try to change the subject young lady! I can't believe you think I look good now! Here I thought you were just never going to see how well-looking I am. I don't know whether to feel hurt you barely noticed or relieved you noticed at all!"_

"_Oh hush!" I said, sitting down to let the blue waves touch my feet. I tried not to blush as he sat right in front of me, ignoring the icy water by staring at my face intently. _

"_Is that a blush I see? Wow, it really is a blush. I haven't seen you blush because of me since that one time you were on your period and needed me to get you some pads. I mean, I was okay with getting it for you since I'd gotten them for my mom and sisters before, but man were you red that day!" I blushed harder at that unpleasant memory. _

"_Oh stop it Taran! So what if I think you're good looking, what's the big deal?" I asked, trying my hardest not to sound defensive. _

"_It's a big deal because I can finally do this and not feel bad for taking it," he said, taking my hands. _

_I raised my eyebrows in confusion. "Do what? Take what?"_

"_This, you silly girl," he said softly. Then, he leaned towards me and softly pressed his lips to mine for a few seconds. "I just took your first kiss!" he exclaimed, raising his arms to pick me up and twirl me around. I was still dazed from the kiss when he put his forehead against mine and whispered, "You took my first kiss too. I was saving it for you." _

Oh he was such a charmer. Those words still cause me to melt inside. What I loved about him is that he always was very sincere to me. I think there was only one time he lied to me. I was eighteen, finally a college student, when I went back again that summer with my family like I always do. He wasn't there to greet me, a first, but he arrived a few days after I did.

"_Taran! I was starting to think that you wouldn't come this summer!" I yelled as I ran at him as fast as I could. He opened his arms and allowed me to give him a kiss. _

"_And miss that welcome? Never! How are you, my little Geli-bean?" he said, still holding my close. _

"_Oh fantastic now that you're here! Come on, let's go back to our cave to talk." I said, grabbing onto an arm and dragging him through the sand. _

The summer passed much like any other. We laughed and talked a lot. We danced, we swam, we ran, we went bike riding, and we kissed. A lot. Some days we would do all sorts of activities, and other days we would just laze around at the beach, getting sun-tanned and dreading the moment that we had to part again. And suddenly, it was the day we both had to go our separate ways until the next summer.

_I was standing in front of him. We had been saying goodbye all day to ease the pain, like we did every summer on this day. "Goodbye!" I exclaimed, giving him a tickle before saying it again and tickling him somewhere else. _

"_Geli, stop. Stop. I have to talk to you before you leave. Gely, listen to me. Lina! Angelina!" I stopped mid-tickle. No matter the occasion, he never called me Angelina, not since the first day we met. _

_Concerned I asked, "What is it? What's wrong?" _

"_Geli," he said softly, his hands reaching out to hold my face. "I'm not coming back next year." His eyes were sad, and I didn't want to believe it._

"_Why not?" I asked, trying not to cry. _

"_I'm transferring from my community college to a university across the nation. I got a scholarship there, but I have to work summers and traveling back here would cost too much money." He looked me in the eyes, his filled to the brim in seriousness and sadness. The first real shadow I've seen in his bright blue eyes. _

"_Alright, then we'll see each other the summer after that. Or I could just go visit you there. What University did you get into?" I asked while my brain tried to churn out all the possibilities of seeing him again. _

_Shaking his head, he told me, "You know that will never work. You're a college student. You know how tight money is nowadays for you and your family. I won't tell you the University I'm going to because the temptation to take your college savings to see me would be too great for you and you know it. Let's just continue with our lives as college students, and then meet up here in the summer a few years from now. We have to promise each other that we will both move on, and meet here in a few years regardless if we have moved on or not. You should go have your life with someone who can be with you year round so I think we should stop this long-distance relationship we have and let things fall however they will. I just want you to be happy and not have to wait for me." He said, finishing his sentence softly. _

"_But I am happy with you, even if I can only talk to you over the phone or email." I said, not ready to face this new situation. _

"_Yes, but we usually have the entire summer to ourselves. Not anymore. This time, we would spend years before seeing each other again. Let's just agree to move on but meet each other in, let's say five years. Five years from now, we will see each other again, even if we have a boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever. Promise me, Angelina." He demanded. _

"_Fine, I promise," I said, doing a rather good job of keeping the tears inside. I didn't want to. I so did not want to break communication with the person who has been my best friend for twelve years and something more than just a boyfriend for four years. But what he said made sense, and I was sure that we would see each other again after our five years apart. "But I promise something else too. I promise to come here every summer for the rest of my life. Even if we marry and have kids, every summer I will come here, and you will be here with me." _

So maybe I was being a bit dramatic, but that was exactly what I was feeling, and with Taran, anything I felt had a way of coming out so he would know it. We kissed a very long time before we finally let each other go, and I remember thinking, 'these five years are going to pass so fast'. I hadn't realized that the kiss we gave each other was the last one. That the goodbye we gave each other was the last one, and that Taran's last words to me where lies. Maybe they were well-intentioned truths, but over time, they became nothing more than lies. Five years passed. I arrived to the beach early, it was still technically spring, and left as soon as fall started. He didn't show. I spent every waking hour at the beach that summer, and he didn't show.

He didn't show.

I remember feeling betrayed, angry, and an immense and profound sadness. But like I promised him, I went back every summer. Even when I eventually married I told my husband, before I married him, that there was someone I was waiting for, and I had promised to go as long as I would live. He didn't like it, but he understood that it was something that had been going on years and years before I met him. I guess he also really loved me enough to allow me to wait for another man. He was golden, but Taran was starlight.

And so the years passed, and never did I see a blonde head, blue eyes, or a beaming smile. I did move on and had children, but since I was a child, my summers were dedicated to him. Old habits die hard, if they die at all.

My poor husband died (in his sleep, which I suppose helped the heartache I felt), and soon my kids were having kids. I was alone, something I was getting used to, and yet, my summers were still spent at the beach.

And here I am. My skin is old and weathered, veins complementing the spots on my hands. My once thick black hair is nothing more than wispy strands if white. My teeth are not so great, and far fewer than when I was a young girl. Really, I'm no longer the vibrant girl I used to be. I don't think it's because my youth passed. Rather, I think that I could only be vibrant with Taran around.

Taran, the one who showed me what life was about, the one who taught me how to swim and dance and kiss and love, who showed me to laugh the loudest if I was going to laugh, and scream the loudest if I was going to get angry, and to punch the hardest if a boy I didn't like came to near, was gone. He was gone and I had spent my life waiting for him.

It's funny though, because I don't regret it. I don't regret coming alone to the beach when my parents passed in hopes of catching a glimpse of him. I don't regret scouring through newspapers and interrogating anyone who knew him about his whereabouts. I don't regret packing up for the summers after I married to come and sit at my cave while my children played in the sand with my husband. I don't regret coming alone after my husband died and thinking that it was my fault for not loving him enough. I don't regret it all because I love Taran like I loved no other. I love him with my entire heart and souls and mind, and I knew that I wouldn't reproach him for the pain he caused me if I ever saw him again. I wouldn't reproach him for not keeping his promise for the first time. I wouldn't reproach him if he had entirely forgotten about a little girl called Lina that he called Geli.

As I'm thinking this, shifting the sand with my shaking hands, I look up and see him. I see him, an old, old man, bald, stooping, and toothless but still able to beam a smile at me.

So I carefully rise to my feet and I walk towards him. I grasp his hands, and for the first time in many decades, I can breathe fully again. His touch is the very thing I craved for in decades, and to be able to do it leaves me almost weak-kneed. And we begin to talk to each other as if it was just one summer we were apart, and are just continuing with the routine of talking as loud as we could while ignoring what the other was saying except for a word here or there that causes confusion.

I notice that our weak and raspy voices get stronger as we walk down the beach to our cave. I start to walk straighter, as he does. My limbs no longer ache; my skin no longer feels ancient or looks saggy. The closer we get to the cave, the younger I feel.

As we walk in and stand over the spot that we buried our treasure all those years ago, I look at him and wonder. I see him again, a boy with a toothy smile, sparkling eyes, and messy blond hair. Holding hands, we face each other.

Finally, and with a big sigh of relief, we kiss.

**a/n: Reviews are appreciated! I hope you all enjoyed it! **


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